North Korea: 2012-2016

[max161]

My comment is that some (but not all) of the comments being made in this thread all sound well and good from a western perspective. I would ask anyone who is interested in thinking about the problems on the Korean Peninsula to use their imaginations (and perhaps do some studying) to try to imagine how the the Korean people (north and South) and the Chinese view these situations. Many of the things we are imagining on this thread might seem ludicrous to the various actors who have a direct role in the affairs on the Peninsula. I think we could make (and I think a number of you have made) many of the same criticisms about how we were (and perhaps still are) ignorant of Afghanistan, it's people, culture, traditions, and history and we can see where that has gotten us. The discussion on this thread would likely lead down the same path for the Peninsula as was taken in Afghanistan. Only the path on the Peninsula is perhaps at least slightly more dangerous, complex and will have more far reaching implications than Afghanistan will ever have.

[Ken White]

Well spake...

[Ulenspiegel]

My comment is that some (but not all) of the comments being made in this thread all sound well and good from a western perspective. I would ask anyone who is interested in thinking about the problems on the Korean Peninsula to use their imaginations (and perhaps do some studying) to try to imagine how the the Korean people (north and South) and the Chinese view these situations. Many of the things we are imagining on this thread might seem ludicrous to the various actors who have a direct role in the affairs on the Peninsula. I think we could make (and I think a number of you have made) many of the same criticisms about how we were (and perhaps still are) ignorant of Afghanistan, it's people, culture, traditions, and history and we can see where that has gotten us. The discussion on this thread would likely lead down the same path for the Peninsula as was taken in Afghanistan. Only the path on the Peninsula is perhaps at least slightly more dangerous, complex and will have more far reaching implications than Afghanistan will ever have.

Very good assessment.

My friends from South Korea (first and second generation immigrants to Germany) with family member still in the Seoul region were in favour of a very strict policy against the north. My colleague from mainland China becomes quite uncomfortable when asked about the potential role of Peking in this mess. And I as citizen of the former FRG but with large parts of my family living in the GDR at that time I assume that there is no simply solution. :-)